Re: Authors you just cannot get into

On Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:54:38 -0700, "Mike Schilling"
<mscottschilling@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Lawrence Watt-Evans wrote:

Yeah, the Brits are constantly asking why we Yanks have gone and
meddled with the language when in the vast majority of cases the
American form is older, and it's the English who changed it.

The example of this that really struck me is in _Modern English
Usage_, where Fowler describes "maybe" as an ostentatiously archaic
substitute for the everyday word "perhaps".

The one that I first really noticed was "forgotten" -- the past
perfect of "forget," which is just "forgot" in modern English.

I have the impression, though, that the English still have the word
"forgotten," but only as an adjective, not as a verb. (If anyone
British is reading this, do I have that right?)





--
My webpage is at http://www.watt-evans.com
The final issue of the Hugo-nominated webzine Helix
is now at http://www.helixsf.com
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Authors you just cannot get into
    ... American form is older, and it's the English who changed it. ... The example of this that really struck me is in _Modern English ... substitute for the everyday word "perhaps". ... "This might as well say "bing tiddle tiddle bong". ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • Re: Authors you just cannot get into
    ... meddled with the language when in the vast majority of cases the ... American form is older, and it's the English who changed it. ... I believe that 'knickers' derives from knickerbockers, ...
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  • Re: Authors you just cannot get into
    ... meddled with the language when in the vast majority of cases the ... The example of this that really struck me is in _Modern English ... substitute for the everyday word "perhaps". ... that's the standard usage in the U.S. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
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    ... The example of this that really struck me is in _Modern English ... substitute for the everyday word "perhaps". ... Leaf book on grammar for tiny tots, ... ball" popping up in the middle like an ugly weed. ...
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  • Re: Authors you just cannot get into
    ... The example of this that really struck me is in _Modern English ... substitute for the everyday word "perhaps". ... Must be another one of those substandard usages ... You can't reason with someone whose first line of argument is ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
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